NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 13 Advanced Micro
Devices AMD.N has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) to explore
options, which could include a potential sale, as the chipmaker
struggles to find a role in an industry increasingly focused on
mobile and away from traditional PCs, according to three sources
familiar with the situation.

The company's stock surged 18 percent on the news before
ending up 5 percent at $2.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that an outright sale of the
company is not a priority, and other options for AMD could
include a sale of its portfolio of patents.

One of Silicon Valley's oldest chipmakers, AMD is laying off
engineers and some analysts are concerned it may not find new
markets for its chips in time to reverse a declining cash
reserve.

AMD's shares have fallen more than 60 percent this year,
giving it a market value of about $1.4 billion. It also has
long-term debt and capital lease obligations of about $2
billion.

AMD was not immediately available for comment, while a
JPMorgan spokeswoman declined to comment.

Some investors believe part or all of AMD could be bought by
a technology company that might want to emulate Apple Inc's
(AAPL.O) tight control of software and components, a strategy
credited in part for the success of the iPad and iPhone.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Google Inc (GOOG.O), Samsung
Electronics (005930.KS), Intel Corp (INTC.O) and even Facebook
Inc (FB.O) have been suggested by Wall Street analysts as
potential suitors that could benefit from some of AMD's chip
business, including its graphics division, PC processors and
server chips.

Others say AMD's most valuable asset may be its deep bench
of engineers or its patents.

One of the sources described AMD as a "legacy company" and
said it might prove difficult to sell because of its dependence
on the PC industry and lack of strong mobile offerings.

Like Intel, Sunnyvale, California-based AMD was caught
flat-footed in recent years with the emergence and fast growth
of mobile devices.

AMD said last month it would slash 15 percent of its
workforce, while devoting more resources to areas outside of its
traditional PC business, including communications, industrial
and gaming applications. [ID:nL1E8LIF15]

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SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK, Oct 4 Avaya Inc's
private equity owners explored selling the telecommunications
equipment company earlier this year, instead of taking it
public, and had talks with Oracle Corp , three people
familiar with the matter said this week.